This invention is intended to tow or pull persons standing upright on roller skates, skateboards, ice skates, skis or any other contrivance of the like. The purpose of the invention being to produce a vehicle that allows the operator to be in complete control of the vehicle while making abrupt turns, accelerating and decelerating. This invention seeks to overcome the problems associated with being pulled behind a motorized vehicle and has significant advantages over prior designs in operator comfort and practicality of operation. The invention can be configured to operate on any surface and comprises of an engine or motor, driving at least one wheel or a continuous track, connected through a frame to the operator""s controls. The major contributions that the invention makes to the art of constructing such vehicles is in the relationship between the operator and the vehicle. This contribution is primarily in the way the operator is conveyed behind the machine, how the motive forces are transmitted from the vehicle to the operator, and how the operator guides the vehicle. The invention allows the vehicle to transfer the forces of acceleration and deceleration to the operator more efficiently while enhancing the degree of operator control.
Other inventions for a motorized vehicle intended to pull or tow a person, on snow skis, water skis or roller skates etc. follow the basic design that relies upon the strength of the operator""s arms and hands to continuously grip the tow vehicle during its use, with the operator holding on to some sort of crossbar or handgrips. These prior designs have all of the forces of acceleration or deceleration from the vehicle transferred directly to the operator through the arms of the operator. The prior designs of such vehicles are impractical as the operator does not have good control of the vehicle and the forces transmitted to the operator promote operator fatigue. During rapid acceleration, the operators of such machines often do not posses the strength to hang on to the machine or to keep their feet braced beneath them. The same holds true during deceleration when braking, or making abrupt turns. In the event that the vehicle encounters an obstruction and or rapid deceleration, the operator is allowed to move unrestrained towards and against the vehicle, likely resulting in serious injuries.
Bolvin and Carr, Canadian patent 918,199 depict a machine for pulling people on skis. The motive force is directly applied to the operator""s arms. There is no means to restrain the operator from moving forward against the machine, if the machine were to encounter an obstacle or if the machine was subjected to hard braking.
Cox et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,446 reveals a machine intended to push people, the motive force being behind the operator, while still relying on the strength of the operator""s arms. Cox et al attempts to alleviate the problem of the machine running over the operator, with the use of a harness connected to the brake mechanism. Any movement rearwards, intentionally or unintentionally will trigger the brake. There is very little to protect the operator should the vehicle collide with an obstacle.
The machines depicted by Cox et al and Bolvin/Carr are typical examples of prior art in this field, although neither have the features of the invention disclosed herein.
This invention is an improvement over the existing designs for vehicles intended to tow or pull people on skates, skis etc. The invention incorporates the basics of a motor or engine to provide a forward motion through a traction means, i.e. rotating drive wheel or revolving track, connected to a frame. The frame can take the shape of a latticework or other rigid structural design. The frame of the vehicle is designed to absorb energy, in the event of the vehicle striking an object, and incorporates energy absorbing springs or energy absorbing crumple zones in the framework to absorb and lessen the impact. The frame has a folding stand attached which will contact the ground and hold the vehicle upright when the vehicle is parked and not in use by the operator. The folding stand is swung up and against the frame when the vehicle is in use. The folding stand has a spring assist to help hold it against the frame. The frame is connected to an ergonomically shaped and contoured pivoting body pad at a pivot point. The ability of the pivoting body pad to pivot around its axis allows for minor changes in direction to be quickly accomplished as well as reducing the amount of effort required by the operator. More drastic changes in the direction of travel are accomplished by the operator shifting his/her weight and leaning into the direction of travel, this in addition to allowing the pivoting body pad to pivot on its axis, effects a drastic change in the direction of the travel.
The pivoting body pad encompasses shoulder supports and a torso clamp. The operator is held against the pivoting body pad by the torso clamp, which is padded for comfort. Forces of acceleration are transferred to the operator through the torso clamp. The torso clamp assures that the operator remains in close contact with the vehicle so that the operator""s body movements are communicated to the vehicle via the pivoting body pad. The pivoting body pad also absorbs and spreads out the forces of deceleration. The height of the pivoting body pad can be adjusted to suit different operators. The torso clamp is spring-loaded with the springs acting to force the clamp to close around the operator""s body. If sufficient strain is placed against the springs, in the event of an accident, fall or undue overstress, the torso clamp will open to release the operator. The amount of spring loading is adjustable to allow for different levels of operator proficiency or the severity of terrain. A flexible waist belt with a quick release fastening system could be used in lieu of the torso clamp. This torso belt would encompass the operator and pivoting body pad and function in the same way as the torso clamp insomuch as a means to maintain the operator in close communication with the pivoting body pad. The torso belt would be fitted with a mechanism that would release at an adjustable level of tension to free the operator from the pivoting body pad.
Some vehicle weight is intended to rest on the shoulders of the operator. This weight is transmitted to the operator""s shoulders through the shoulder supports that rest directly on the operator""s shoulders. The shoulder supports are padded for comfort and are adjustable in the vertical axis to accommodate the different heights of operators. The shoulder supports also act as a means of transferring some of the forces of acceleration to the uppermost portion of the operator""s body. Handgrips with controls are attached to the frame forward of the pivoting body pad and are gripped by the operator. The handgrip controls contain the necessary throttle and brake actuators and the position of the handgrips is fully adjustable to suit the different lengths of the operator""s arms. The handgrips also have a crash guard extended on the outboard side to deflect objects that might accidentally strike the vehicle and the operator""s hands.
It may also be desirable to fit the vehicle with a crash guard, which encompasses the peripheral area of the operator. A crash guard such as this is envisioned for those operators who would use the vehicle more aggressively or in competition with others. Versions of the vehicle equipped with an all encompassing crash guard system would be fitted with torso clamps or torso belts which may not have the automatic release feature, depending upon the operator""s preference. Operators of such vehicles may chose that the torso clamp or torso belt be fitted with manual release types of closures only.
For further operator comfort, the weight of the operator""s arms is supported by arm supports mounted on the frame of the vehicle. The arm supports are padded for comfort and their purpose is to further reduce the fatigue to the operator""s arms. The height of the arm supports is adjustable in the vertical axis to accommodate different operators. The major contributions that the invention makes to the art of constructing such vehicles is in the relationship between the operator and the vehicle. This contribution is primarily in the way the operator is conveyed behind the machine, how the motive forces are transmitted from the vehicle to the operator, and how the operator guides the vehicle. The invention allows the vehicle to transfer the forces of acceleration to the operator through the torso clamp or torso belt, thus virtually eliminating any fatigue on the operator""s arms. The shoulder supports transfer any weight from the vehicle, that is the weight which is not supported by the drive wheel, to the operator""s shoulders. The shoulder supports also act as a means of transferring some of the forces of acceleration to the uppermost portion of the operator""s body. Another major contribution that the invention makes is in the event that the operator of the vehicle meets with an obstruction that causes rapid deceleration, the pivoting body pad helps to transfer the forces more evenly to the operator""s body, while the compression springs and crumple zones built into the frame, which might be substituted for any known technological equivalent, also absorb impact.
The vehicle is envisioned for recreational purposes with the operator wearing roller skates, skis, etc. It is possible that some people may not wish to wear skates or skis and may choose a modification of the machine that attaches at least one ski or wheel to the lower portion of the pivoting body pad assembly. In this configuration, the operator would stand on a platform with the wheel mounted below, or stand directly on the ski. The operation of the vehicle would be similar to the previously mentioned version with the operator pivoting the body pad and platform together to change direction. In this configuration, the wheels or skis support any of the weight not supported by the drive train and the shoulder supports can be removed, at the operator""s discretion.